Pioneer AppRadio 2: It's All About the Apps

From the Crutchfield Archives

Use your apps where you want them — in your dash

Smartphones have become our main source of entertainment, holding tons of music and videos, plus con­necting us to the Internet. Pioneer’s original AppRadio broke new ground by being the first receiver dedicated exclusively to iPhone® apps. AppRadio 2 continues that innovation by bumping up the screen size and adding support for select Android™ phones.

Easier interaction on the big screen

It helps to think of AppRadio 2’s 7" touchscreen as a computer monitor and your smartphone as the “computer.” With the AppRadio app running, you can pull up compatible apps, access your phone’s calendar and contacts, and play music from your collection. You can swipe, pinch, and tap just like on your phone’s screen. And you can stash your phone in a safe spot while you do it.

Apps in your dash for Android...

There are ten Android apps that work with AppRadio 2 right now, giving you a nice suite right out of the box. Pandora® Internet radio lets you discover new music based on your tastes. AUPEO! Personal Radio works in similar fashion, but unlike Pandora, it also works outside the U.S. MIXTRAX analyzes your iTunes® library and creates transitions between songs like a DJ. Waze gives you turn-by-turn directions, plus incorporates user input in real time. You’ll need an adapter cable to connect to AppRadio 2, so give us a call to see if your Android phone is compatible.

...or iPhone users

Just connect to AppRadio 2 using your iPhone cable and you’re in. You can choose from fourteen apps, including favorites like MotionX-GPS Drive for navigation and INRIX® for traffic. An included GPS antenna helps boost the signal for GPS-reliant apps. Pandora, AUPEO!, and Rdio make sure you have endless tunes. You can even use an app to monitor your car’s performance — DashCommand™ taps into your car’s ODB-II port and to give you detailed diagnostic info on AppRadio 2’s screen (a $50 app and extra gear is required; call for details). With the help of an optional adapter, many of these apps are also available for Android users — and rest assured, the list is growing.

Already cool...and it’ll keep getting cooler

This is the easiest in-dash stereo to update ever. AppRadio 2 will notify you whenever new apps are available, plus give you alerts when updates are available for apps you already have. Just tap the screen and follow directions. And app developers are working with Pioneer to bring you many more apps that’ll work with AppRadio 2 in the near future (you can see an up-to-date list of apps and also compatible phones on Pioneer's website). So as great as it is today, it’ll just keep improving with age.

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Crutchfield Writer Biography

Zak Billmeier

Zak Billmeier grew up in southern Vermont and coastal Maine. After graduating from Mary Washington College with a Geography degree he still isn't sure quite what to do with, he eventually settled in the mountains of Central Virginia. He spends his free time chasing his daughter around, taking pictures, gardening and cooking. Zak traces the roots of his interest in electronic gadgets to the Casio wristwatch with a built-in calculator he received as a gift one year as a child. He joined Crutchfield's car A/V team in 2007.